


a smaller con

by ConvenientAlias



Category: The Sting (1973)
Genre: Age Difference, M/M, Mildly Dubious Consent, Missing Scene, One Night Stands
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-04-05
Updated: 2018-04-05
Packaged: 2019-04-18 14:59:05
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,373
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14215653
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ConvenientAlias/pseuds/ConvenientAlias
Summary: Lonnegan's interest in "Kelly" extends beyond business.





	a smaller con

Lonnegan gets his first good look at Kelly after the boy’s been punched in the stomach and shoved into a seat. He’s young, smaller than Lonnegan would have expected. He’s not the sort of man you send around to fetch things, not a thug or a hoodlum. Maybe a man of all work for Shaw. Maybe something else. Someone Shaw likes to keep near him, at the very least.

“Why do you think I told you this? Why do you think I crossed him?” Kelly asks, and though Lonnegan listens to the boy’s half-assed plan he thinks he knows the real reason. Shaw’s not much of a man, is he? A drunk, peremptory and rude and superior. Kelly wanted to find a real man to take Shaw down. Lonnegan knows himself to be a real man.

As Kelly walks out of the train car, Lonnegan is already thinking to himself that he deserves Kelly. At the very least, he knows Shaw doesn’t. Shaw doesn’t deserve, well, anyone following him, but especially not a pretty boy, one as bold as Kelly. Lonnegan thinks about it. He thinks about it in the car, too, with Kelly half sitting in his lap. Floyd smirks at him across Kelly, knowing perhaps what he’s thinking about, and Lonnegan frowns him down.

Kelly wants to break Shaw down so he can become his own man, gain his independence. Lonnegan wonders if he can make Kelly his man instead.

“Tomorrow,” Kelly says. “The diner. 1:30.”

Lonnegan says, “If I’m not there by quarter of two I’m not coming.” Kelly nods. He does not push. Good, he knows his limits.

The next day Kelly shows Lonnegan that his plan to take Shaw down is halfway decent. More importantly he shows Lonnegan what he looks like in a tuxedo. That’s it. Lonnegan’s all in.

He tells Kelly he’ll help him if he can. He asks Kelly if he wants to get a drink later that night.

Kelly smiles at him uneasily.

“You expect me to move four grand for a man I barely know?”

So Kelly agrees. He brings Lonnegan to a bar in a back-alley, not the classiest joint but not a bad one either, and at least the drinks are good. The fact that it’s not all that public tells Lonnegan that Kelly has read his intentions right. That or he likes to lay low by nature. Either one is good.

He lets Kelly get a little tipsy before he puts his hand on his leg. Kelly looks at him, but doesn’t try to make him take it away. Smart kid. He tells Kelly that since they’re friends now he’ll pay for Kelly’s next drink. Kelly lets him. He gulps it down fast enough, watching Lonnegan carefully. Lonnegan has nothing to hide, not from Kelly. He squeezes Kelly’s leg and smiles a little, and Kelly’s smile back is hesitant but it’s not forced. You can never jump the gun with things like these. Being hesitant is for the best.

Kelly doesn’t offer to bring him to his apartment, so he has Floyd drive them to his hotel. Kelly loiters in the suite’s parlor, wary.

“We’ve become friends. I’ll move the four grand…when I have proof that your little trick works,” Lonnegan says. “If you want, you can go home.”

Kelly doesn’t go home. He stands awkwardly in front of the couch, half drunk. He looks up at Lonnegan, and his eyes are wide and longing. Lonnegan tugs him into the bedroom, but he’s the one to close the door. Lonnegan takes that as understanding.

Shaw doesn’t know how to wear a tie, but Kelly does. He’s been wearing one all day, and it even has a little crease right in the middle. Lonnegan untucks it from Kelly’s jacket and rolls it around in his hand. “It’s a good color on you, lad.”

“Thank you.” When Lonnegan looks up he sees Kelly is wetting his lips. He pulls on Kelly’s tie and Kelly puts a hand up to catch at the noose, prevent it from getting too tight. Lonnegan laughs. He pulls Kelly’s hands down and helps him out of his jacket and hat. The hat goes on a stand. The jacket goes on the floor—Lonnegan is getting a little impatient.

He runs his hands through Kelly’s hair. It’s been recently cut; Kelly takes care of himself, though Lonnegan doubts Shaw appreciates it. He wonders if Shaw has ever touched Kelly. Kelly would probably tell if he asked, but he’s not sure he wants to know.

Kelly’s hands are clenched by his sides. Clearly he doesn’t know what to do with them. Lonnegan picks one up, kisses the knuckles and places it on his own shoulder. Slowly Kelly mirrors with the other hand. Lonnegan pulls him in and kisses him on the lips. His technique is all right, so at least this isn’t his first time, no matter how skittish he’s acting. His mouth tastes of chaw tobacco, vulgar and dark. Lonnegan sucks a moan out of him before leading him to the bed, pulling him again by the tie. He half sits, half falls onto it.

“What are we going to do?” he asks.

Lonnegan tilts his head. “Tell me, what kind of experience do you have?”

“I know a few tricks.”

“You choose, then.”

Kelly sits for a couple minutes, apparently going over some ideas in his head. He comes to a decision soon enough, and helps Lonnegan out of his coat. “Lie down,” he says.

Lonnegan complies. He stretches himself out full-length on the bed. Kelly curls up, a little more compact, and unbuttons Lonnegan’s pants. He lowers his head and puts his money where his mouth is. Lonnegan thinks, almost delirious in the moment, that any whore who can do this is worth four grand and more. Worth a whole goddamn fortune. What is money, anyway?

(Thoughts like these are the reason he never hires any actual whores, even back in New York. He has a feeling he would tip too large. One must be prudent.)

When he’s done, Kelly rolls off the bed and stands up. He’s waiting for something. Lonnegan reluctantly sits up—he’d rather savor the moment a little longer. He says, "Well, not bad."

Kelly nods. He is looking over Lonnegan's shoulder and out the window. Kids always feel awkward after a fuck, as if they've embarrassed themselves, no matter how much praise you give them. And really, Kelly is clever but he's just a kid.

"Where'd you learn your little tricks?" Lonnegan asks, idly curious. He regrets the question as soon as he asks it; the answer might well be Shaw.

Kelly says, "Oh, just a friend."

"Special friend?"

"Doesn't matter," Kelly says. He smiles, and he finally meets Lonnegan's eyes. "He's gone now."

There is a moment of silence. The air feels more charged than it did at the bar, even more charged than it did a minute ago with Kelly's lips on Lonnegan's cock. He clears his throat. “I’ll be meeting your Les Harmon tomorrow.”

“Yes, sir.”

“Call me Lonnegan.” Just please don’t butcher the name like Shaw. But Kelly gets the name right on the first try. Then it’s _Goodbye, Lonnegan_ , and he heads out.

Lonnegan likes Chicago, if it’s anything like this. Worse, he actually likes Kelly. It’s a pity the kid is so determined to run the outfit here, determined enough to betray his boss and go running to a stranger for help. He could really do something with a guy like Kelly in New York. Could teach him how to handle a gun, maybe, or put him on some transport job, or maybe just keep him around for his looks; a man like him has the right to be lavish. Maybe he can talk Kelly into it. He can be very convincing, especially with a couple men backing him up.

For now, though, he won’t think about that, no matter how interesting the possibilities. For now he’s Kelly’s benefactor and good friend, and he’ll enjoy the benefits as much as Kelly will. After all, he stands to make a lot of money, and at the very least he’s having a very good time.

**Author's Note:**

> I just...really liked The Sting (which I watched for the first time tonight). Tbh I feel like Hooker/Gondorff and Hooker/Lonnegan are both very interesting ships, but as there's no Hooker/Lonnegan out there yet I felt it was more of a priority. So here you have a basic hook-up for Hooker.  
> If you enjoyed, leave a comment :).


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